


Without You

by andpeggyy



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Family Feels, Gen, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-29 22:17:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20089669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andpeggyy/pseuds/andpeggyy
Summary: After months alone, Minseok thinks his parenting skills have reached a new low.





	Without You

**Author's Note:**

> Re-post of an old AFF fic. I finally got my account back so I'll try to repost everything here! Enjoy~

It’s stuffy in his home office as he types on his computer, his full concentration on the task at hand being broken by small stomping feet outside his door.

“Stop that, Jongin!” He shouts through the closed door as he adjusts his sitting position on the ergonomic chair in front of his wooden desk. The desk is a marvelous thing he and Luhan had found at an antique store several years ago, before even Jongdae appeared in their lives.

The stomping stops only to resume a few minutes later with more force. Minseok sighs, frustrated about not being able to finish editing his latest assignment and tired of looking at a word-filled document for hours.

He stands up and opens the door with too much force, causing the small boy in the hallway to stop dead in his tracks. “Time out. Now,” he commands, and the boy follows orders without much fuzz.

He follows small feet to the foot of the stairs where Jongin sits and huffs as he crosses his arms. “No fair. You said you’d play with me after lunch,” he whines.

“Daddy’s working, Jongin. You could’ve asked your sister.” He knows he shouldn’t have promised anything, but Jongin had woken up way too early that morning and had started jumping on his bed. He’d been half asleep when the boy asked.

“Jinri doesn’t want to play with me, she’s on the phone with her boyfriend.” He says the last word with so much distaste it causes Minseok to chuckle.

“Tell you what. Let me finish up some stuff and then we can play out in the backyard, ok?” Jongin perks up at the promise and fully intends to get up from the steps but Minseok holds him down. “Finish your time out, young man.”

The boy huffs again, but less angrily as he had before and continues to sit, sprawling his body over the stairs in boredom. “When can I get up?” He says exasperated.

“Jinri!” He shouts up the stairs. The girl shows up some seconds later looking annoyed. “Tell Jongin when his five minutes are over, would you?”

“Sure, sure.” Her attention goes back to her cellphone as Minseok gives Jongin an ‘I’m watching you’ look.

“Be a good boy, Jongin.”

Jongin nods and Minseok is finally able to go back to his work. He wishes he had an extra set of helping hands. Ever since Jongdae went away to college, Jongin has had no one to play with and gets bored more often than not which makes Jinri scream out in frustration when he goes to his sister looking for a play buddy. He can’t keep calling Baekhyun and Kris since they have their own kids to worry about, and Sehun and Tao are more of a handful than Jongin, Jinri and Jongdae combined.

He drops his body onto his chair and ruffles his hair. He wishes Luhan were here with him. He’d know what to do, how to entertain Jongin without making a mess and how to get Jinri to come out of her room. He’d even convince Jongdae to come home for the weekend like he hadn’t been able to earlier that morning. He misses his husband.

Reluctantly, Minseok goes back to typing. He might be a failure as a parent but he’s a damn good writer and he will finish this assignment in no time.

Time, however, is relative, and when he looks up after fixing endless errors, he notices it’s completely dark outside. Shit.

He stands up quickly and closes his laptop with a thud. He only has a few paragraphs left, so he’ll just finish tomorrow. After taking the kids for brunch at his parents. And doing lunch at Kris and Baekhyun's. And doing the grocery shopping for the following week.

He’s screwed. “I’m screwed.”

But his eyes are closing on their own and he’s sure Jongin will be furious in the morning, and Jinri will probably be equally as mad because any chance she gets to be a snotty teenager at her Dad she just jumps right in.

Now he feels bad; Jinri has actually been so helpful lately, taking care of Jongin and doing her chores diligently and even going as far as making him coffee when she notices he’s tired of staring at his computer screen. He should get her that cellphone she’s been asking for next time they go to the mall.

He should get the worst Dad award, he’s sure of it.

After his internal battle, he heads to the door and opens it quietly. The house is made almost entirely out of wood and everything creaks. It was hard to get used to it at first, but once they had children, it was easier to figure out where the little humans were or if they had fallen or something of the like.

When he’s about to step foot outside the room he almost trips on a lump on the ground, a lump that looks an awful lot like a certain 4-year-old boy.

“Jonginnie?” He asks as he kneels by his son. He looks like Minseok wishes to look right now: knocked out.

He feels a pang in his chest when he picks him up. He probably waited silently by the door for him to be finished but Minseok never did. It’s one of Jongin’s talents to fall asleep in the most outrageous places but this one takes the cake. Guilt sets in firmly in his gut.

“I’m sorry, baby boy,” he says between pecks to Jongin’s cheek. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, I promise.”

He goes up the stairs after turning off all the lights on the first floor. He places the boy on his bed and manages to put his pajamas on without him waking up. Placing the covers on top of his little body, Minseok kisses him one last time before leaving the bedroom and turning off the lights.

He then checks on Jinri before going to get a bite to eat. The teen is fast asleep already, her room a mess and her computer on. He shuts the thing off and makes a mental note to ask her to clean up in the morning. He kisses her as well before adjusting her covers and stepping out of the bedroom.

He takes one last detour to Jongdae’s room. Squeaky clean and empty, just like the boy had left it two months ago. He misses him a lot, especially now that there are no adults in the house, just him. It makes him think of Luhan and how it was before they were a family of five, living in a small apartment downtown and carrying a folder with coupons every time they did the groceries. Sometimes he misses those days, but then he remembers how Jongdae made them parents, how Jinri likes to hug them randomly and how Jongin loves cuddling on cold mornings.

Sighing, he goes downstairs. There are plates stacked in the sink which means they at least got something to eat before conking out. Attempting to not make himself more miserable at the thought of his kids making themselves dinner, he loads the dishwasher and grabs a banana.

Going to his room, he quickly puts on his pajamas and gets under the fluffy covers. However, the minute his head hits the pillow, a creak by the door startles him.

“Daddy?” He hears a small voice.

“Jongin, why aren’t you in bed? It’s late and cold,” he scolds but pats the spot next to him on the bed anyways. The boy responds swiftly and jumps on the bed and under the covers where he claims his spot under his Dad’s chin. “I’m sorry we couldn’t play today, buddy.”

“It’s ok, Daddy. But you have to play with me tomorrow. You have to,” the boy warns with a serious look on his face.

Minseok laughs as he presses Jongin against his chest. “Ok, ok. I will.” His plans be damned, he can’t disappoint Jongin again.

“Daddy, I miss Papa,” Jongin whispers.

“I miss him too, baby. I miss him, too.”

Sleep claims them both not long after.

His dreams are interrupted by noises coming from the first floor. He thinks he’s maybe imagining it all until he clearly hears glass shattering against the tiled kitchen floor.

He gets up from the bed quietly, trying not to wake his little boy, and grabs the baseball bat he keeps inside his closet. He hopes to find a squirrel or maybe even a rat because the thought of a person breaking into his house where his kids are currently sleeping terrifies him.

Minseok goes down the stairs, avoiding the spots he knows squeak. Years of living in this house have taught him a few tricks. Like how to warm up the rooms during winter because the fireplace only heats the first floor, or where the optimal place to put the king size bed is so it doesn’t scratch the floor or make any noise when they’re having their alone time. It’s information he’s accumulated through years of practice and many mistakes. This is his house, damn it, he won’t let a stranger barging in turn it into an episode of Law & Order.

When he’s two steps away from the kitchen door– where he can clearly hear someone rummaging through the cabinets– he grabs the bat with more force and walks up to the door carefully. The second he enters the room he hears a familiar screech and drops the bat on his foot.

“Motherfu–“ he swears. Or attempts to.

“Language!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Is that how you welcome me after four months?”

“I thought you were an intruder! Goddammit Luhan, I was about to shit my pants,” he hisses at his husband.

Luhan then starts laughing hysterically, slapping his thigh and doubling over. “You should have seen your face.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Minseok retorts but starts laughing anyway. He’s missed Luhan’s laugh so much. He missed Luhan so much his heart might very well explode. “You’re here.”

“I’m here,” Luhan replies as his body is rid of laughter. “I’m back.”

Minseok throws himself at Luhan and the man holds him so tight his breath is cut short. But it’s so worth it. “Fuck, I missed you.”

“I missed you too, so much. Minseok, you wouldn’t believe how pathetic I looked. The team kept making fun of me, the assholes.”

“I can imagine. I remember how I found you when I went home that summer during college and you holed up in Kris’ guest bedroom for two months.”

Luhan punches him lightly on the arm but proceeds to kiss his husband sweetly on the lips. Things get heated fast; months without contact other than Facetime and phone calls does things to a person. They climb the stairs without breaking their kiss, pulling off clothes as they go.

“You’re fitter than I remembered,” Minseok whispers on his neck.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

The second Luhan kicks the door open Minseok remembers the little boy currently sleeping on his bed. “Shit, shit, fuck,” he curses under his breath. “I’m sorry, Lu.”

“Is that Jonginnie?” Luhan whispers as he moves towards the bed. He clears the hair from the boy’s face and lowers his head to kiss his forehead. “I missed you, baby boy.”

“He woke up and came here. I know we stopped letting him sleep with us but I just–“

“It’s ok. I would’ve done the same.” Luhan walks closer to Minseok and circles the man’s shoulders. “Thank you for holding up the fort while I was gone.”

Minseok kisses him chastely and smiles wide. “I’m just glad you’re back.”

“I’m glad I’m back, too.”

He’s woken up by a screech. Then he feels someone thrashing on the bed he was peacefully sleeping on.

“Papa! You’re back!” Jinri screams as she jumps on Luhan. “I can’t believe it, Dad said you wouldn’t be back for weeks!”

“I snuck away from Junmyeon when he couldn’t see,” he says cheekily. He then looks at Minseok and mumbles, “I had to beg the bastard.”

“Daddy?” Jongin wakes, confused, and holding on to Minseok’s shirt tightly.

“Look who’s back, baby,” Minseok tells him directing his eyes towards Luhan.

“Papa? Papa!” Jongin throws himself on top of Luhan as well and now Luhan is buried under his children while Minseok laughs at him.

“Who called for entertainment?” A voice says from the door. Jongdae, bag still on his shoulder, stands outside their bedroom. Minseok looks at his oldest son with suspicion. He feels he and Luhan were in cahoots trying to fool him, but he’ll deal with the college boy later. “Sorry I blew you off, Dad, I had to keep up the facade,” he chuckles.

“We’ll talk about fooling your old dad another time,” Minseok tells him as he approaches the boy and hugs him. “I’m glad you’re home, Dae.”

“Can we have a barbecue?” Jongin asks.

“I don’t know,” Jongdae answers. “Can we?” He wiggles his eyebrows in a way that tells Jongin he should protect his ticklish areas, which makes the boy scream as his brother jumps on the bed.

In the meantime, he just sits on his side of the bed as Jongdae tickles Jongin and Jinri buries herself under her Papa’s arms because he’s missed this so much he feels almost overwhelmed by how happy and perfect this moment is. And, as Jinri tells Luhan all the things they did while he was away, he suddenly feels anything but a failure. He feels accomplished as he thinks his family is everything he did right in this world.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are appreciated.


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